Carton with resilient article retaining means



July 23, 1968 w. G. ATKINSON CARTON WITH RESILIENT ARTICLE RETAININGMEANS Filed Dec. 22, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 30 WILLIAM G.ATKINSON ATTORNEYS y 3, 1968 w. e. ATKINSON 3,393,823

CARTON WITH RESILIENT ARTICLE RETAINING MEANS Filed Dec. 22, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 1 NVEiv '1 OR. WILLIAM G. ATKINSON ymwwz ATTORN EYSUnited States Patent 8 Claims. 61. 220-115 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThis invention relates to paperboard cartons for use in shipping bottlesor cans or the like which are arranged in an erect side-by-siderelationship. The carton has a compartment for receiving a plurality ofbottles in intimate contact with one another withont the usual dividerwhich is used to separate each bottle. According to the presentinvention there is provided a resilient secondary end Wall within thecarton which is adjustable to vary the effective overall width of theprimary compartment of the carton in accordance with the varyingdimensions of the bottles or the like which are located within theprimary compartment. The resilient end wall may be formed from an eX-tension of the known end wall panels or it may be formed integral with acentral divider used to divide the carton into two primary compartments.

This invention relates to paperboard cartons.

In particular this invention relates to improved cartons for use inshipping and storing articles which have substantial dimensionalvariations.

Containers such as beer bottles are generally manufactured with adiametrical tolerance of +060, .030 inch. Thus when the bottles aregrouped together in a group of six in line, the maximum overalldimetrical variation is .360 inch.

Paperboard cartons are generally manufactured to accommodate the maximumpossible dimensions of the bottles and consequently there are occasionswhen there can be as much as .OOY inch difference in the overall innerdimensions of the carton and the overall minimum dimensions of thebottles. Where cartons are formed with an individual compartment foreach bottle the variation in dimensions between the carton and thebottles does not present any great problem. However, the lowering ofbottles into multi-compartmental cartons has for some time been a majorsource of difficulty in the bottle industry, as the bottles aregenerally dropped into place and this frequently causes breakage of thebottles. With this in mind there has been a move to cartons which do nothave separate compartments for each bottle and which can, therefore, beend loaded without the need to drop the bottles into place. The use ofcartons which do not have individual compartments reduces the likelihoodof breakage during the loading of the cartons, but due to the possiblevariation between the dimensions of the carton and the overalldimensions of the bottles, breakage can occur during the shipping of thebottles as a result of movement of the bottles within the carton.

It has been found that the disadvantages of the prior art discussedabove can be overcome by providing, in a carton having a top wall, abottom wall, a pair of opposed side walls, and a pair of opposed endwalls defining a primary compartment, the improvement of at least oneresiliently adjustable secondary end wall within the primary compartmentadapted to vary the effective overall width of the compartment betweenthe end walls.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved carton forcontainers and the like which have substantial dimensional tolerances.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a variable sizedcompartment within a carton.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a resilientlyadjustable secondary end wall within the inner compartment of a carton.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a divider panel fordividing a compartment into at least two secondary compartments andvariable adjustable secondary end walls within each secondarycompartment to vary the effective overall width of the compartmentbetween the end walls.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cartondivider having at least two pairs of secondary end walls carriedthereby.

The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to thefollowing detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawingswherein:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view of a closed end loading carton according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a pictorial view of a divider panel assembly according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 3 is a partial plan view of the divider panel assembly of FIGURE2 taken in the direction of the arrows 33.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the divider of FIG- URE 2 taken in thedirection of the arrows 44.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional plan view of the carton of FIGURE 1 taken in thedirection of the arrows 5-5.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 showing an alternativearrangement of containers within the carton.

FIGURE 7 is an exploded perspective view of a further embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention,and

FIGURE 9 is a partial view of yet another embodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings the carton 10 is formedwith a top wall 12, a bottom wall 14, a pair of opposed side walls 16and a pair of opposed end walls 18 which taken together define acompartment 20. The end walls 18 are formed by co-operating flaps 18a,18b, 18c and 18d which fold upon one another to close the carton.

In FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the reference numeral 22 refers generallyto a divider assembly for use in the carton illustrated in FIGURE 1. Theassembly includes a central longitudinally extending divider panel 24which is formed with a reinforced handle element 26 and a reinforcedupper edge 28. A pair of secondary end walls 30 and 30a extend outwardlyfrom opposite ends of the central panel 24 in one direction and a pairof secondary end walls 32 and 32a extend outwardly from the centralpanel 24 in the opposite direction to define, in combination with thecentral panel 24 and the carton 10, a pair of article embracing primarycompartments 46 and 48 which are adapted to embrace a plurality ofbottles or cans 44 in erect side-by-side intimate contact with oneanother.

FIGURE 3 of the drawings illustrates the manner in which the secondaryend walls 30 and 32 are connected to the panel 24. In the embodiment ofthe invention illustrated the divider assembly 22 is formed from aunitary blank which is cut and scored in order to be foldable to theform illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4. An important feature of theembodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 3 lies in the factthat the secondary walls 30 and 32 may be deflected in the direction ofthe arrows 34 and 36 to enlarge the capacity of the compartment definedby opposed secondary walls as will be described hereinafter.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2showing the manner in which the blank is folded in order to provide areinforced handle portion 25. The same folding of the blank provides areinforced upper edge 28.

The divider assembly 22 fits within the carton and the top wall 12 ofthe carton is provided with a longitudinal slot 36 through which themanually engageable handle passes. The divider assembly 22 is free tomove vertically within the carton in order that it may be raised orlowered to cause the handle to project through the slot 36 or to causethe handle to underlie the top wall 12. When the handle is in the raisedposition the reinforced edge 28 of the longitudinal panel and the topedges 38 and of the secondary end walls react against the inner surfaceof the top wall 12 to permit the carton to be carried by the handle.

Referring now to FIGURE 5 of the drawings it will be seen that thedivider asembly 22 fits within the carton 10 to provide a pair ofsecondary compartments 46 and 48. In FIGURE 5 of the drawings the cartonis shown containing bottles 44 which all have the minimum permissibleexternal diameter measurements and consequently the overall dimension Xis a minimum for the class of bottle in use. The face-to-face dimensionbetween the opposed walls 30, 30a and 32, 32a is never greater than thedimension X when the divider is in an unstressed position. It will benoted that the internal end-to-end dimensions of the carton are greaterthan the external endto-end dimensions of the divider assembly such thatthere may be a gap 42 at each end of the carton.

Turning now to FIGURE 6 of the drawings wherein a carton is shown to beloaded with bottles having the maximum permitta'nle external diameterfor the particular class of bottle in use. In this illustration thedimension Y is equal to the sum total of the external diameters of thebottles arranged within the secondary compartments and the dimensionillustrated at X is equal to the minimum external dimension as discussedwith reference to FIGURE 5. It will be noted that in order toaccommodate the greater width the secondary end walls are forcedoutwardly into the gaps 42.

From the aforegoing it will be apparent that the bottles are embraced bythe secondary end walls 30, 30a, 32, 32a in a close fittingrelationship.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in F IG- URE 7 thesecondary end Walls 30, 30a, 32, 32a are formed as an integral part ofthe carton rather than as an integral part of the divider assembly aspreviously described with reference to the aforegoing drawings. It Willbe readily apparent that when the divider panel 22a is located in aposition to divide the carton 10a into two substantially equalcompartments the secondary end walls 30b, 30c and 32b, 320 will act insubstantially the same manner as the walls 30, 30a, and 32, 32apreviously described. The gap 42a is provided by forming the secondaryend walls as an integral part of the end panels 18a and 18b andproviding longitudinal extensions 18f connecting the secondary end wallswith the primary end walls.

A still further embodiment of the invention is illus trated in FIGURE 8wherein a carton of the type which is provided with a single compartmentis illustrated. In this type of carton a divider is not required. Asecondary end -wall 30d is provided in the compartment to accommodatethe variations in diameter of the containers as previously described.The secondary end wall 30d is formed integral with the end wall 18 andis connected thereto by means of a longitudinally extending extension18g.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGURE 9 whereinsecondary end walls 30 and 32f are in the form of substantially Z-shapedinserts which are adhesively connected to the end wall panels 18a and18b. Again the secondary end walls 30 and 32 are adjustable toaccommodate the variations in diameter of the articles to be containedwithin the carton.

The broad principle of the present invention is best iillustrated inFIGURES 5 and 6. In FIGURES 5 and 6 it will be seen that the articles tobe contained within the carton are always maintained in intimate contactwith one another by the embracing efliect of the secondary end walls onthe outermost articles of each group. It will be apparent that if theface-to-face distance between the secondary end walls in their relaxedposition is never greater than the dimension X then the secondary endWalls will embrace the containers within the carton over the entirerange of overall widths of the articles. It has been found that theinherent resilience of paperboard is sufiicient to enable the secondaryend walls to be deflected outwardly while still maintaining an embracinggrip on the articles of larger diameter.

Various modifications of the embodiments of the invention illustrated inthe drawings will be apparent to those skilled in the art of packaging.In particular it would be with the scope of the present invention toadapt the divider assembly for use with articles having a generallysquare cross-section. This could be done by extending the length of thedivider panel 24 and causing the secondary end wall to be initially toedinwardly when in a relaxed position.

What I claim is:

1. In a carton having a top wall, a bottom wall, a pair of opposed sidewalls and a pair of opposed end walls defining a primary compartmentadapted to receive a plurality of bottles or cans or the like in erectside-by-side intimate contact with one another, the improvement of aresiliently adjustable secondary end wall within said primarycompartment at or adjacent at least one of said opposed end wallsadapted to vary the effect overall width of said compartment betweensaid end walls.

2. In a carton having a top wall, a bottom wall, a pair of opposed sidewalls and a pair of opposed end Walls, at least one divider panelextending between said end walls to define a pair of primarycompartments adapted to receive a plurality of bottles, cans or the likein erect sideby-side intimate contact with one another, the improvementof a resiliently adjustable secondary end wall within each of saidprimary compartments at or adjacent at least one of said opposed endwalls of each primary compartment, said resiliently adjustable secondaryend wall being adjustable to vary the elfective overall width of saidprimary compartments between said end walls.

3. In a carton having a top wall, a bottom wall, a pair of opposed sidewalls and a pair of opposed end walls, at least one divider panelextending between said end walls to define a pair of compartments, theimprovement of one pair of opposed resiliently adjustable secondary endwalls extending into each of said compartments adjacent each of saidopposed end walls, one secondary wall of each pair of walls beingcarried by opposite ends of said divider to define bottle embracingcompartments therebetween adapted to embrace a plurality of bottles orthe like in erect side-by-side intimate contact with one another, saidopposed resiliently adjustable end walls being adjustable to vary theeffective overall width of said article embracing compartments.

4. In a carton as claimed in claim 1 the improvement of securing saidresiliently adjustable secondary end walls to an end wall of saidprimary compartment.

5. In a carton as claimed in claim 2 the improvement of forming saidresiliently adjustable secondary end walls integral with an end wall ofsaid primary compartment.

6. In a carton as claimed in claim 3 the improvement of forming saidsecondary end walls integral with said divider panel.

7. In a carton as claimed in claim 3, the improvement wherein eachsecondary wall is initially spaced from its opposed secondary wall adistance not greater than the minimum overall extent of the articles tobe located within said primary compartment.

8. In a carton having a top wall, a bottom Wall, a pair of opposed sidewalls and a pair of opposed end walls, the improvement of a handlemember comprising a divider panel extending between said end Walls todefine a pair of compartments, a pair of opposed resiliently adjustablesecondary end walls formed integral with said divider panel andextending into each of said compartments, one secondary wall of eachpair of walls being carried by opposite ends of said divided to definebottle embracing compartments therebetween, said opposed resilientlyadjustable walls being adjustable to vary the effective overall width ofsaid article elmracing compartments adapted to embrace a plurality ofbottles or the like in erect side-by-side intimate contact With one an-References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,675 2/ 1935 Sinz et al.206-65 2,012,132 8/1935 Koppelman et al. 229-15 2,296,389 9/ 1942Leu-koff 229-27 2,748,978 6/ 1956 Hennessey et al. 229-15 2,830,727 4/1958 Stoel 220-115 3,034,682 5/ 1962 Curran.

FOREIGN PATENTS 932,714 12/ 1947 France.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.

